Prospective Students: Message from the Dean

Welcome to the University of Chicago Law School! I look forward to introducing you to our school and our community, and to showing you why any student should want to study here.

Today, there is great pressure toward homogeneity among American law schools. National ranking and accreditation pressures tend to lead us toward a common denominator. I am proud that Chicago is an outlier, internationally recognized as uniquely committed to the world of ideas. Regardless of whether you are a liberal or conservative, an economist or a humanist, a member of the majority or a person in the minority, it is your ideas that matter, not who you are or where you came from. Honest, respectful, no-holds-barred debate about ideas will be nourished and protected at all cost. The more you learn about us, the more you will want to be part of this uniquely exciting community.

Importantly, Chicago is known not only as a place where your intellect will be challenged, but also as a place that will give you the training and the skills necessary to hit the ground running as a lawyer. I am proud that having Chicago on one's diploma is synonymous with proficiency in legal reasoning and argumentation. We train our students to think analytically, carefully, and thoughtfully and we do that better than any other school. But particularly given the changes buffeting the legal market, we also give serious attention to skills training--the activities that professionals engage in every day of their life such as drafting and negotiating agreements and oral advocacy. The training you will receive as a Chicago Law student is second to none, and private and public employers alike will be glad to have you join their ranks.

Come visit us and let us show you why our students and faculty are so happy to be here and why alumni are so proud of the education they got here. Meet the people in our community, see the newly-renovated library and classrooms, and experience for yourself the best legal education in America. And, of course, while you are here take the time to jog alongside the beautiful Lake Michigan waterfront, visit the Field Museum or the Art Institute, shop along Michigan Avenue or visit a club in Bucktown. Learn for yourself why Chicago is the most exciting and livable city in the nation.

- Michael Schill

I am very excited about leading the school that has generated the most important ideas to shape American law over the past half century.